Home Office

Asylum: Rwanda

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Bar Council and Law Society about the potential use of UK lawyers in Rwanda to advise on asylum claims.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Following the signing of the new Treaty between the UK and Rwanda, we are continuing to work to strengthen this Partnership. We are working with the Government of Rwanda to see where any UK expertise or support would be beneficial. More details on this will be set out in due course.

Mistreatment of Detainees at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre Inquiry

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to respond to the letter from the Chair of the Brook House Inquiry to the Home Secretary dated 19 October, which asked what steps they are taking to review and respond to the inquiry’s recommendations and which requested a response by 9 November.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Government is carefully considering the findings of the Brook House Inquiry in its detailed report, including the recommendations and the Chair’s letter, in relation to the management of the immigration detention estate and the welfare of detained individuals.

Asylum: Children

Baroness Butler-Sloss: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings in the report by the Children's Commissioner Unaccompanied children in need of care, published 16 November, on the level of safeguarding for unaccompanied children who arrived by boat and were placed in hotels since 2021; and what steps they intend to take to ensure such children are properly safeguarded.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Children’s Commissioners’ report on ‘Unaccompanied children in need of care’ was published on 29th November. The Home Office are reviewing the report and will respond directly to the Children’s Commissioner in due course. Hotel accommodation was an emergency response to Kent’s position on newly arriving unaccompanied children in July 2021. The high number of UASC arriving via small boats also placed significant pressure on the National Transfer Scheme (NTS), which resulted in the use of hotels continuing for longer than our short-term ambition. Out of necessity, the Home Office have accommodated UASC on an emergency and temporary basis while placements with local authorities have been vigorously pursued. Those who have been accommodated in hotels are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further support is provided on site by teams of social workers and nurses. Staff, including contractors, receive a number of briefings and guidance on how to safeguard children. All children receive a welfare interview; this includes a series of questions specifically designed to understand whether there are any potential indicators of trafficking or particular safeguarding issues. The High Court recently ruled that the routine and systematic use of hotels to accommodate UASC is unlawful. We are working at pace with Kent County Council, other government departments, and local authorities across the UK, to ensure suitable local authority placements are provided for UASC urgently and sustainably. The High Court has upheld that local authorities have a statutory duty to care for all children including UASC. Local authorities are also under a mandated obligation to comply with the National Transfer Scheme. The Home Office have always maintained that the best place for UASC to be accommodated is within a local authority.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services: Veterans

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto improve mental health support services for military veterans, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lord Markham: Service Personnel who have been assessed and diagnosed with a mental health need are able to access the Ministry of Defence community mental health services for up to six months after discharge, to provide continuity of care during the transition period, until appropriate handover to the National Health Service and other services can be completed as required.In April 2023, NHS England commissioned Op COURAGE which is the veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service providing a comprehensive mental health treatment pathway to respond to veterans’ needs. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans. There is ever increasing investment in this area with the highest level to date in 2023/2024 with planned spend of £23.5 million. Following the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, an additional £2.7 million was pledged over three years until March 2025, to expand Op COURAGE services to support those experiencing complex mental and/or physical trauma or alcohol and substance misuse.The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom and enable it to become self-sustaining.

Family Hubs: Finance

Lord Browne of Ladyton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the 75 local authorities eligible for the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme received part of the £50 million allocated for establishing infant feeding support services, and how this funding was broken down across those family hubs.

Lord Markham: Of the £50 million, £47.2 million is being distributed to all 75 local authorities participating in the programme from 2022/23 to 2024/25. Local authorities determine the specific interventions they spend their funding allocation on, in line with the programme guide and local area need. Local authorities are responsible for allocating funding to their family hubs. The remaining funding has been held centrally to deliver a series of national initiatives which will support local delivery.A copy of the published funding methodology for the programme is attached; this sets out how each local authority received their funding allocation.Attachment (pdf, 125.7KB)

Fractures: Health Services

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to announce funding for improved fracture liaison services across England to avoid a postcode lottery relating to early detection of osteoporosis.

Lord Markham: Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs) which are well placed to make decisions according to local need. NHS England is also supporting requests from health systems to introduce FLS and other secondary fracture prevention services, including through the Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme.On 24 January 2023, we announced our plan to publish the Major Conditions Strategy. This strategy will explore how we can tackle the key drivers of ill-health in England, reduce pressure on the National Health Service and reduce ill-health related labour market inactivity. The Strategy will focus on six major groups of conditions including musculoskeletal conditions, such as osteoporosis, and will be published early next year.As stated in the Major Conditions Strategy: Case for change and our strategic framework, the Government will work together with NHS England to explore supporting the provision of fracture liaison services. The framework was published on GOV.UK on 21 August 2023 in an online-only format.

Osteoporosis: Diagnosis and Medical Treatments

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the potential cost savings to (1) the NHS, and (2) employers, in the next 20 years as a result of early detection and treatment of osteoporosis.

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimates they have made of the number of (1) deaths and (2) working days lost, each year that result from bone fractures among (a) women, and (b) men.

Lord Markham: We have made no estimate of the potential cost savings to the National Health Service, and to employers, in the next 20 years as a result of early detection and treatment of osteoporosis.Information on the number of working days lost each year that result from bone fractures is not available. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Sickness absence in the United Kingdom labour market publication is produced from data collected from the Labour Force Survey; however, this survey does not specifically ask the question of sick days taken due to fractures.A document is attached with tables showing, firstly, the number of deaths where bone fractures were the secondary cause of death, by broad age group and sex, registered between 2014 and 2023 in England and Wales; and secondly, the number of deaths involving bone fractures, by broad age group and sex, registered between 2014 and 2023 in England and Wales.Government will continue to consider options for further work to support those with osteoporosis and at risk of fractures, including working together with NHS England to explore supporting the provision of fracture liaison service.Attachment (xlsx, 18.5KB)

Family Hubs: Finance

Lord Browne of Ladyton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many local authorities were allocated funding to publish a Start for Life offer as part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, and how much funding was allocated to each local authority.

Lord Markham: £10 million is being distributed to all 75 local authorities participating in the programme to set up Parent Carer Panels and publish a Start for Life offer between 2022/23 and 2024/25. Local authorities determine the specific interventions they spend their funding allocation on, in line with the programme guide and local area need. A core minimum expectation of the programme is for local authorities to publish a digital and physical Start for Life offer.A copy of the published funding methodology for the programme is attached; this sets out how each local authority received their funding allocation.Attachment (pdf, 125.7KB)

Maternity Services: Inspections

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether a practising consultant obstetrician is always present at maternity inspections undertaken by the Care Quality Commission.

Lord Markham: It is the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) usual practice to ensure that each inspection combines the expertise of its inspection staff alongside the insights of a specialist advisor. There are occasions when it has not been possible to recruit an obstetric specialist advisor; in such circumstances, CQC seeks to supplement the team with additional midwifery Specialist Advisors, alongside seeking remote or virtual support from either a consultant Specialist Advisor and/or its National Professional Advisor for maternity, who is a practicing consultant obstetrician.

Maternity Services: Royal Commissions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to establish a Royal Commission into the future of maternity services.

Lord Markham: There are no current plans to commission a public inquiry into the future of maternity services. Recent independent reviews of maternity services in Shrewsbury and Telford and East Kent have highlighted the need for change and the action required. To bring together the recommendations from these reviews, NHS England has published a Three year delivery Plan for maternity and neonatal services, which sets out how the National Health Service will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families. A copy of the plan is attached.All our efforts are currently focused on implementing the recommendations and actions from recent maternity reviews without delay, many of which were aimed at improving all maternity services across England.Attachment (pdf, 876.4KB)

General Practitioners: Finance

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the real-terms, per-patient GP funding in (1) Cornwall, (2) the South West NHS region, (3) England, and (4) London in each year since 2000.

Lord Markham: Spending on general practice (GP) services rose by just over a fifth in real terms between 2017/18 and the most recent data in 2021/22. More specifically it rose from £11.3 billion in 2017/18 to £13.5 billion in 2021/22, representing a 19% increase in real terms.Payments to general practices are published by NHS Digital. The attached tables show the requested real-terms, per-patient GP funding figures from from 2014/15, which is the first year for which cilinical commissioning group summary figures are available; there is no data prior to 2013/14.The tables summarise payments to GPs both in cash terms and adjusted for inflation. From 2020/21, payments are also made for primary care network-related activities. The final annual figures for inflation have been adjusted using the GDP deflator published by HM Treasury.The figures attached are presented for payments per registered patient, as well as payments per weighted patient, where the weighting adjusts for differences in workload associated with age/sex, additional health needs, care home residents, list turnover, as well as areas costs and costs related to rurality. The figures include dispensing doctors related payments and the number of dispensing doctors in each area will therefore impact payment figures.We have reported the health geography most closely fitting the request, with data availability changing over the years; for example, the data for 2022/23 is available at integrated care board (ICB) level but not at a sub-ICB level, while previous years’ data is available for NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group.GP funding figures (docx, 30.1KB)

Abortion: Statistics

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the2023 abortion statistics for England and Wales will be published concurrently with the 2022 statistics in April 2024.

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government why the abortion statistics for England and Wales for 2022 have been delayed and will not be published until April 2024.

Lord Markham: There are no plans to publish 2023 abortion statistics for England and Wales concurrently with the 2022 statistics in April 2024. Following publication of the 2022 statistics, we will move forward with plans to publish abortion statistics for 2023.The publication of the abortion statistics for England and Wales for 2022 has been delayed due to several operational issues. These include issues associated with moving to a new data processing system and an increase in the number of paper abortion notification forms to process.

Ministry of Defence

World War II: Wrecks

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government how many times have HMS Spey and HMS Tamar visited the war graves of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in the past 12 months.

The Earl of Minto: We continue to work closely with the relevant authorities in the region to afford these sites suitable protection. The wrecks of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are designated as protected places under the UK's Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. HMS Spey recently visited the wreck sites of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse to conduct patrol/presence operations. The Ship also held a memorial service for those who lost their lives in the sinking of both ships as part of the UK's remembrance events in November 2023. Based on records available from 1 December 2022 - 1 December 2023, this has been the only visit by HMS Spey or HMS Tamar to the wreck sites of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to theAutumn Statement which notes that £4.6 billion was given to Ukraine in military aid over 2022–23 and 2023–24, how much will be given infiscal year 2024–5.

The Earl of Minto: I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Armed Forces (James Heappey), in the House of Commons on 28 November 2023 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Deane (Mr John Healey) in response to his Urgent Question on the war in Ukraine.Ukraine (docx, 15.5KB)

Defence: Finance

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theirpolicy has changed as regards plans for defence spending, given thatthe Spring Budget stated an aspiration to invest 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product in defence but this is not mentioned in the Autumn Statement.

The Earl of Minto: I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by my hon. Friend, Minister of State for Defence (James Cartlidge), in the House of Commons on 27 November 2023 to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Deane (Mr John Healey) in response to Question number 3090.Defence Expenditure (docx, 24.7KB)

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they believe that the Ministry of Defence still needs to employ 60,000 civilian personnel, in the light of the declining number of regular forces.

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask His Majesty's Government what broad categories of employment the 60,000 civilian personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence fall into.

The Earl of Minto: The size of the Regular Armed Forces and that of the Civilian workforce are not directly linked. The breadth of tasks performed by Civilians in the MOD is significant; they perform over 200 different, vital roles and are key to the delivery of Defence outputs. Defence is unique in that it comprises a variety of workforce types including Civilians and both Regular and Reserve Service Personnel, which together, as the ‘Whole force’ is essential for providing the critical services which Defence delivers on behalf of the nation. Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 2 October regarding the immediate cap on Civil Servant headcount over this spending review and further reductions longer term, Defence is engaging in broader strategic workforce planning activity to ensure it plays its part in delivering increased productivity and efficiency. Defence, in line with other Government departments, segments its Civilian workforce by profession. The breadth of tasks performed by Civilians in the MOD is illustrated in ‘Defence in Numbers’ which shows some of the main professions that make up the Defence workforce. For security purposes we have not provided information about the number of Civil Servants who work in sensitive roles. (Source: Defence in Numbers 2022 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1137992/UK_Defence_in_Numbers_2022.pdf

Department for Education

Apprentices: Costs

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what is theaverage training cost of an (1) intermediate, (2) advanced, and (3) higher level, apprenticeship.

Baroness Barran: The table below shows the average cost of all apprentices who participated in learning across the 2022/23 academic year by level. This includes those who remain on programme, those who withdrew across the year, and those who completed their apprenticeship. Apprenticeships have a minimum 12-month duration and can last for a number of years. These figures cover all costs associated with these apprentices, including costs incurred in previous years and those incurred within the 2022/23 academic year. These figures include payments for apprenticeship training and assessment, as well as additional payments made to employers, providers, and apprentices, including for English and maths. Level of ApprenticeshipAverage Cost*2£4,6003£6,0004£5,6005£5,0006£10,8007£9,000*Numbers rounded to the nearest 100 Each apprenticeship standard has its own funding band, which denotes the maximum amount that the government will fund for training and assessment. The total cost of an apprenticeship will therefore vary by standard, duration, and eligibility for additional payments. Existing standards can have their funding bands reviewed, or be withdrawn for new starts, while new standards can be introduced. These figures are therefore a snapshot in time, subject to change in future and cannot be used to extrapolate future costs of apprenticeships.

Higher Technical Qualifications: Costs

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average cost of a Higher Technical Qualification at (1) Level 4, and (2) Level 5.

Baroness Barran: Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) started being taught in providers in England in September 2022. At this time, the department does not hold data on the average cost of HTQs across all providers. The government sets maximum fee limits for providers registering with the Office for Students as Approved (Fee Cap) Providers who can charge up to £9,250 for a full-time course leading to an HTQ and up to £6,935 for a part-time course leading to an HTQ in the 2023/24 academic year. Eligible students, who are starting designated full-time and part-time courses leading to an HTQ in the 2023/24 academic year, qualify for up-front fee loans to meet the full cost of their tuition and partially means-tested loans for living costs.

Free School Meals: Pre-school Education

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional expenditure that would be incurred if free school meals were to be provided to all registered pupils at maintained nursery schools in England as well as to children in receipt of relevant funded early years education.

Baroness Barran: Over 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits-related free school meals (FSM). This includes pupils attending a local authority maintained, academy or free school nursery, as long as they are either in full-time education or receive education both before and after lunch and meet the benefits-related FSM eligibility criteria. Additionally, close to 1.3 million infants receive free and nutritious meals under the universal infant FSM policy (UIFSM). The department does not currently have plans to change the existing eligibility conditions for FSM or UIFSM. As such, the department has not made an estimate of the associated costs of providing FSM to all registered pupils at maintained nursery schools in England as well as to children in receipt of relevant funded early years education. The department continues to keep eligibility of FSM under review.

Treasury

UK Trade with EU

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assist businesses inovercoming challenges with customs bureaucracy and logistics issues in trade with the EU.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: HMRC has provided practical support to businesses to enable them to adapt to the new trading environment. This support includes comprehensive guidance on GOV.UK, as well as a range of other supportive information, including recorded webinars and short explainer videos. HMRC has invested in building capacity and capability in the Customs & International Trade Helpline and webchat service to ensure businesses who need additional support are able to access it promptly. Businesses can use this helpline service for assistance with UK customs enquiries via online, webchat, phone, and post. Support is also available to exporters via the Department for Business and Trade’s Export Support Service. This is a dedicated service to help more British businesses export and is a ‘one stop shop’ bringing together UK government information, making it easier for exporters to access advice and support. The Government is working with traders and businesses to simplify customs processes in order make it easier for them to import and export goods to and from the UK. HMT and HMRC recently announced the next steps on a package of improvements to streamline customs processes and reduce admin burdens for businesses. The announcement follows extensive consultation with industry on potential improvements to the UK customs system, first announced at Spring Budget 2023. Information on the improvements can be found on Gov.uk.

Development Aid

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the evidence by the Chancellor of the Exchequerto the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee on 29 November, why Official Development Assistance will remain at 0.5 per cent of gross national income for five successive years despite previous commitments by Ministers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government remains committed to returning to a target of spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA when, on a sustainable basis, the government is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending and underlying debt is falling.

Assets: Russia

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total value of Russian state assets in the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: In conjunction with our partners, we have immobilised approximately $280 billion of the Russian Central Bank’s (CBR) foreign currency reserves globally. The CBR’s assets are not subject to an asset freeze but have been immobilised in the UK as it is prohibited to provide financial services in respect of these assets. HM Treasury is working closely with relevant authorities to map the scale and nature of these assets. The Government will legislate to require persons to inform HM Treasury if they hold any foreign exchange reserves or assets in the UK on behalf of the Central Bank of Russia, Russian Ministry of Finance or Russian National Wealth Fund. Separately, the Government has imposed asset freezes against designated persons under the Russia Sanctions regime. Between February and October 2022, £18.39 billion in frozen funds were reported to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in relation to this regime.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Prisoners' Release: Homelessness

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent the homelessness to prison cycle.

Baroness Penn: The Government’s Rough Sleeping Strategy published in September 2022 and published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ending-rough-sleeping-for-good), sets out, in section 4.1, how we are delivering our aim that no one should leave prison homeless or to sleep rough.Since publication of the strategy we have published further allocations for the Accommodation for ex-Offenders scheme up to March 2025, which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/accommodation-for-ex-offenders-scheme-local-authority-funding-allocations-between-july-2021-and-march-2025 Ending rough sleeping for good (pdf, 91.7KB)Ex offenders scheme (pdf, 281.7KB)

Social Rented Housing: Finance

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to increase grant funding for social housing delivery to reflect the decrease in the number of planning applications being made, and a probable decrease in the number of section 106 social homes being built as a result.

Baroness Penn: The provision of affordable housing is part of the Government's plan to build more homes and provide aspiring homeowners with a step onto the housing ladder.Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.The Levelling Up White Paper committed to increasing the supply of social rented homes and a large number of the new homes delivered through our Affordable Homes Programme will be for social rent.For the first time we are allowing the use of grant towards replacement homes on regeneration schemes where there is a positive impact on overall housing supply. This will mean that more regeneration schemes become viable and we can begin to replace outdated, inefficient, and poor quality stock with new housing, whilst meeting the Affordable Homes Programme objective of increasing supply.The housing sector has experienced an increase in the cost of borrowing and materials due to wider economic pressures. The Government continuously works with its delivery agencies to ensure that the Programme is delivering effectively in light of these economic challenges.Since 2010, we have delivered over 684,800 new affordable homes, including over 475,500 affordable homes for rent, of which over 171,100 homes for social rent.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Aviation and Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Nationally Determined Contribution updated in September 2022 (CP744), why the Climate Change Committee advised that emissions from international aviation and shipping should not be included; and in particular, whether this was because of the difficulty in attributing emissions to specific countries.

Lord Callanan: The Climate Change Committee is an independent advisory authority. In 2020, it advised that the UK’s 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution should commit to reduce emissions by at least 68% from 1990 to 2030, excluding emissions from international aviation and shipping (IAS), in line with UN convention. IAS emissions are included in the UK’s domestic sixth carbon budget. The Government has set out ambitious strategies to reduce emissions from aviation and shipping through the Jet Zero Strategy and Clean Maritime Plan.

Wave Power: Finance

Baroness Whitaker: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for establishinga separate contracts for difference funding pot for wave energy generation, so that its funding is no longer in competition with technologies which are closer to market.

Lord Callanan: The Government is developing auction parameters for the sixth allocation round of the Contracts for Difference scheme, including any for wave technologies. This will take into account several factors, including evidence of the pipeline of available projects. Final parameters, including the budget, will be published ahead of the round opening in March 2024.

Electricity Interconnectors: Wales

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made towards the creation of an electricity grid interconnector between north-west and south-west Wales.

Lord Callanan: As part of the Network Options Assessment (NAO) which accompanied the Holistic Network Design (HND), the Electricity System Operator (ESO) identified the need for a new network reinforcement between North and South Wales. National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) is responsible for delivery of the required infrastructure. NGET is currently undertaking a detailed design phase to determine the exact route.

Climate Change Convention: United Arab Emirates

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the cost of sending the UK delegationto the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai, how many UK representativesthiscovers, and how many of them travelled by(1) private, and(2)public, jet aircraft.

Lord Callanan: Although the COP28 climate conference concluded on the 13th December, it is not yet possible to put an accurate figure on the cost of attendance by the UK delegation, as final costs will need to be gathered and reviewed. A total cost will be available for audit in January 2024 at the earliest. The UK Delegation included 11 Ministers from multiple departments.

Climate Change

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the World Climate Declaration.

Lord Callanan: The Government has not made a specific assessment of the World Climate Declaration but uses a range of scientific evidence to inform government policy, in particular the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which is the global authority on climate science.

Ministry of Justice

Human Rights Act 1998: Northern Ireland

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compliance of repealing the Human Rights Act 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement.

Lord Bellamy: The Government is fully committed to upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and to protecting and respecting human rights. We have a longstanding tradition of ensuring that rights and liberties are protected domestically and of fulfilling our international human rights obligations. The Government remains committed to a human rights framework that is up to date, and works for all the people of the UK.

Prisons: Wales

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the prison population in Wales.

Lord Bellamy: On 16 October, the Lord Chancellor announced additional, longer-term measures to reform the justice system and continue to address the prison capacity challenges. The Lord Chancellor’s measures apply to England and Wales and include:o Extending the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) for foreign national offenders;o Introducing a presumption that sentences of twelve months or less are suspended to reduce reoffending;o Legislating to allow prisoners to be held in overseas prisons;o Reviewing the incentives around early guilty pleas to save the courts time, spare victims the ordeal of giving evidence in court, and cut the number of people in our prisons on remand;o Looking at options to tackle the injustice of the now abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence and how the licence period could be reduced to restore greater proportionality to the IPP sentence;o Reviewing our Home Detention Curfew (HDC) policy to increase the number of prisoners eligible for this successful rehabilitative measure;o Reviewing the use of recall for offenders on release who infringe the terms of their licence; and,o A new annual statement on prison capacity and up to £400m of funding for more prison places (enough to buy 800 new Rapid Deployment Cells). The Government will continue to carefully monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.

Prisoners: Wales

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support female Welsh prisoners held in English prisons, both during and after their imprisonment, to reintegrate into the community.

Lord Bellamy: All women’s prisons have an embedded pre-release provision delivered by the Probation Service. The pre-release team liaise with the Community Probation Practitioner as allocated and support pre-release planning activity throughout the sentence. The teams will progress referrals that have been made to Commissioned Rehabilitative Service suppliers, including fast tracking services for women serving short sentences. This provision is provided for Welsh women in English prisons as part of the Women’s Pathfinder Whole System Approach (WSA), with a WSA Service Caseworker based in HMP Eastwood Park and Women's Partnership Integration Coordinators aligned to each Probation Delivery Unit area in Wales, helping to support inter-agency connection and coordination across women's services.

Criminal Proceedings: Women

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government how many women have been assisted by the Women’s Pathfinder Whole System Approach since its establishment in 2013.

Lord Bellamy: There was not a full Women’s Pathfinder Whole System Approach (WSA) service in place prior to 2019. Therefore, data does not exist for the number of women who have been assisted since 2013.The commissioned Women’s Pathfinder WSA service in South Wales and Gwent went live in October 2019 and has assisted 4,117 women through referrals to the service from January 2020 to September 2023.

Prisons: Pests

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government whether efforts to eliminate rats, mice and cockroaches in all prisons in England and Wales have been successful, and if not, in how many prisons they still present serious problems.

Lord Bellamy: We undertake routine planned pest control regimes as part of our existing Facilities Management contracts. Where we encounter higher than normal level of pest infestations, we put in place targeted control measures to eliminate/reduce the particular pests.We do not hold a list of the current number of prisons where we have serious infestations. Any/all infestations are dealt with as quickly as possible in order to ensure that we do not have high numbers of sites with serious problems.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Kenya: Indigenous Peoples

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Kenya regarding the evictions of the Ogiek people and other indigenous peoples in the Mau forest in that country.

Lord Benyon: The British High Commission in Nairobi is closely monitoring events in the Mau Forest. The Minister for Africa and Development has not raised this issue with the Kenyan authorities.

Refugees: International Cooperation

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government who will be representing the UK at the Global Refugee Forum.

Lord Benyon: Minister Mitchell represented the UK delegation at the Global Refugee Forum on 13th December.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Children

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Benyon on 30 November (HL Deb cols 1172–1174), what assessment they have made of the (1) health impacts, (2) developmental damage, and (3) risk of sexual assault, that may arise for children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of cobalt mining.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Benyon on 30 November (HL Deb cols 1172–1174), what steps they are taking to identify whether the cobalt-containing products imported into the UK are associated with child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; what assessment they have made of the credibility of assurances given by consumer-facing technology and electronic vehicle companies that their cobalt supply chains are not associated with child labour, forced labour, hazardous conditions, or environmental destruction arising from mining operations; and what steps they are taking to ensure (1) that the products arriving in the UK contain correct information about the supply chain, (2) that any falsified information is fully addressed, and (3) that, where it is not possible to give assurance from legal and ethical sources, this should be clearly disclosed on the products.

Lord Benyon: The use of child labour in artisanal cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains a serious problem. We regularly raise the issue of child labour in DRC's mining sector with both the DRC government and through multilateral fora such as the Human Rights Council. We also raise concerns about gender-based violence in DRC. The UK was the first country in the world to require businesses to report on the steps they have taken to tackle modern slavery. Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to report annually on steps they take to prevent modern slavery in operations and supply chains. We are also committed to addressing the developmental impacts of illicit mining on children, and have provided funding to the Effective Approaches to Ending the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Fragile Contexts consortium, to develop innovative approaches to ending child labour in DRC.

Development Aid

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 July (HL9405) and 8 November (HL10550), what were (1) the core, (2) the non-core, (3) any other, and (4) total, financial contributions to (a) the United Nations Population Fund, (b) the International Planned Parenthood Federation, (c) the World Health Organization, (d) UNICEF, (e) UNAIDS, (f) the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and (g) UN Women, in each financial year from 2014 to 2022.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Based on FCDO "Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2022", the total amount of UK ODA financial contributions was: 2014201520162017201820192020202120221.a United Nations Population Fund – Core 20,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,0008,000,0008,000,0002.a United Nations Population Fund – Non-core203,290,00094,690,00087,470,000120,470,000148,880,000189,930,00069,660,00057,320,00097,510,0004.a United Nations Population Fund – Total223,290,000114,690,000107,470,000140,470,000168,880,000209,930,00089,660,00065,320,000105,510,0002.b International Planned Parenthood Federation – Non-core 9,600,0009,040,0006,430,00005,480,00034,940,00049,170,00042,530,00022,230,0004.b International Planned Parenthood Federation - Total9,600,0009,040,0006,430,00005,480,00034,940,00049,170,00042,530,00022,230,0001.c World Health Organization – Core 14,500,00014,500,00014,500,00019,500,00029,500,00034,500,0005,000,00097,600,00097,750,0002.c World Health Organization – Non-core84,510,000102,150,00088,670,000111,400,000142,640,000150,180,000215,900,00035,530,00043,650,0003.c World Health Organization – Assessed contribution (DHSC) 11,500,00011,830,00012,000,00012,190,00012,790,00013,000,00013,260,00012,490,00013,400,0004.c World Health Organization - Total110,510,000128,480,000115,170,000143,090,000184,930,000197,680,000234,160,000145,610,000154,800,0001.d UNICEF – Core48,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00024,000,0008,000,0002.d UNICEF – Non-core275,130,000287,590,000353,970,000400,070,000401,460,000429,220,000412,740,000201,540,000202,170,0004.d UNICEF - Total323,130,000335,590,000401,970,000448,070,000449,460,000477,220,000460,740,000225,540,000210,170,0001.e UNAIDS – Core 15,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,0002,500,0008,000,0004.e UNAIDS – Total15,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,0002,500,0008,000,0001.f Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – Core 285,000,000100,000,000152,940,000317,060,000360,000,000370,000,000476,000,000380,000,000434,000,0004.f Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - Total285,000,000100,000,000152,940,000317,060,000360,000,000370,000,000476,000,000380,000,000434,000,0001.g UN Women – Core12,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,0005,750,00002.g UN Women – Non-core 490,0004,190,0008,310,0006,850,0004,900,00013,400,0006,910,0003,430,0004,700,0004.g UN Women - Total12,990,00016,690,00020,810,00019,350,00017,400,00025,900,00019,410,0009,180,0004,700,000  Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten thousand.